


Evil Reborn

by WrestleCrazyGamer



Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Language, Name Inheritance, Post-Canon, Timeline Fulfillment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrestleCrazyGamer/pseuds/WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: It has been a long time since Ashi's passing, but Jack hasn't let it keep him from enjoying the new era of peace. His immortality seemed to still be going strong, however, so rather than succeed the throne he chose to be a protector of the world. When the world needs him, he will be there. Evil would soon rise again to power, and a new supreme evil would be born from the flames of vengeance. A young man who was betrayed by his friends now seeks revenge, and will kill anyone and anything that gets in his way.





	1. Evil's New Clothes

_ Long ago in a distant land, Aku, the shapeshifting master of darkness unleashed an unspeakable evil. A heroic samurai warrior wielding a magic sword rode forth to oppose him. After an arduous journey through time after being flung into the future, Aku was vanquished forever. The samurai, as some legends say, was still exempt from the spiral of time and continues to walk this earth. A tree to honor those Aku killed was planted at the site. _

_ This tree over time grew to become a blossoming tree with a brilliant pink bark. It became tradition for warriors who will go to war to pray at this tree for safety from evil. One young warrior and his allies sought to make a prayer for peace after successfully repelling an enemy attack. When the warrior placed his hand upon the trunk, his allies turned their weapons upon him. He tried to defend himself, but their numbers were too much for him. They ran him through with his own sword before dumping him in a shallow grave at the tree’s base. Years passed, and his blood soaked into the soil by the tree...turning the bark black and the blossoms from a pure white color to a hellish red. On the day of the eclipse that once awoke Aku, the warrior seeped out from the blackened bark - revived, with vengeance on his mind. His old armor gone, leaving only his tattered pants and shirt, he reclaimed his sword from the dirt. With the red eyes of a demon, he set forth into the new world as darkness formed a black overcoat around him… _

[Nahx City - 9:34AM]

The futuristic city was bustling as a young man with long unkempt fire red hair and red demon eyes walked among the crowds. He wore modern black boots, tattered blue denim jeans that flowed like fire at the leg holes, a tattered white hakama shirt, and overtop of it a black overcoat keeping the sleeves of his hakama contained. At his side was a sword as wide as a tachi katana while having the sharp dual edges of western blades, its blade a hellish red with a jet black handle. Any who met his gaze were frightened into stepping aside. It had begun to rain as he approached an antique shop where an ant alien woman looked at him.

“Welcome to my humble shop, mister tall, dark and gruesome. What can I help you find today?” the alien ant asked, clasping her many hands together.

“I’m told you also deal in information.” he replied, shifting his eyes to look at her.

“Well that all depends. What kind of information are you looking for…?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I need to know where the Sueda, Marka, Lieza, Poupou, and Barja Clans have settled their roots.” he explained, pulling amber coins from his hakama to set on the desk.

“Those are all household names, sir. For whatever reason would you need to know the specific whereabouts of those families?” she asked.

“So I can make them pay for what they did to me…” he replied, intimidating her with a glowing glare.

“Well, I legally can’t help with that sort of thing… amber is in short supply these days…” she stated, tapping her fingers on the counter.

“Perhaps this will convince you…” he stated, his coat beginning to move and flutter like flames.

The alien’s scream brought the authorities running to a horrifying sight. The entire shop had been trashed and there was no sign of the owner, despite obvious signs of bloodshed all over the place. They eventually found her in the back room with most of her appendages and an antenna missing. Her eyes were wide open and she was shaking violently.

“Who did this to you?” one of the policemen asked her as another called an ambulance.

“It...was...AKUUUUUUUUU!!!!” she screamed.

Walking through crowds again, the man walked at a faster pace. He’d gotten the information he needed. Thunder flashed, making the shadow of the Master of Darkness appear on a building spooking people. Even from where he was, he could hear her shriek.

“ _ That isn’t my name… _ ”

After that incident, rumors of Aku appearing spread like wildfire throughout the world. Eventually the rumors reached a small town in the countryside, where they reached the ears of a certain sword instructor. The instructor immediately set up a temporary instructor, and retrieved a sword from the altar.

“Master Jack, where are you going?” a young student asked.

“To verify the rumors. If Aku has somehow returned then I will send him back to the fiery pit that he crawled out from.” he replied.

[Veil City - 1:22AM]

A long two months had passed since the rumors of Aku appearing began circulating. The descriptions were vast and varied, none able to come to a consensus. This benefitted the darkened one as it made entering cities and towns easier. He made it a point never to stand out, if he could help it. Thanks to his dark cloak, stealth at this hour is much easier than in daylight hours. This city in particular held the first key to his vengeance: the headquarters of the Barja Family, once a small clan now grown into a corporate empire. His old friend Yajha, a rotund jolly fellow who knew his way around an axe, always did enjoy merchant endeavors. Produce, textiles, electronics… but his vice was his interest in the black market. Numerous times he had caught him trying to sneak off to that godforsaken place. If the rumors are to be believed, even the black market is embraced as part of everyday life in cities built and owned by the Barja Family.

“In hindsight, perhaps that was a red flag about my ‘jolly axeman’... he always had an odd air about him...” he muttered to himself.

He eventually found his way to a rave club where one of the Barja family’s heirs is said to frequent. His clothing lit up in neon colors like the ravegoers, helping him blend in more. His target didn’t seem to be around the dance floor or among the groups at booths. That just left the VIP studio upstairs. Walking up the steps, naturally, a bouncer got in his way.

“You look new to me, pally. Only esteemed regulars are allowed past here. Lessin’ you mean to say you’ve got a pass?” the bouncer told him.

“Oh I have a pass.” the wanderer scowled, and with a flick of his wrist slashed the bouncer’s neck with his blade.

The beats of the rave masked the thuds of the bouncer’s body down the stairs. He then calmly entered the VIP booth, his blade dripping with fluorescently colored blood due to the lights. The VIP guests seemed calm at first, largely ignoring him. He then spotted his target in the furthest booth - Jeremy Barja. His poindexter glasses and bowl cut matched his photo in newspapers exactly. The way he snorted while laughing struck an irritated nerve with the wanderer. Without missing a beat he stabbed his blade into the seat by Jeremy’s head making him scream like a woman and curl up as the club girls at his side screamed in panic, fleeing.

“Jeremy Barja, your ancestor betrayed me with his axe. For his crime, your blood along with the rest of your family will be spilled to pay it.” he growled.

“No, please, I forgot my anti-assassin taser!” he squealed, trembling.

“That just makes my job easier.” he huffed, raising his blade to strike.

“Wait! Hear me out, I hate my family! I’m sorry for what my ancestor did to you! J-Just don’t kill me, please! I’ll tell you anything you want about the castle’s security, just spare my life!” Jeremy screamed, getting on his knees to prostrate himself as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Club security then rushed in making the wanderer turn to slash and hack them down one by one. One guard stabbed him with a taser, but it only made him angrier leading to a reward of a more brutal death by disembowelment. Once the last one fell he turned his attention back to Jeremy, who’d soiled himself at the sight.

“Now… that information on the castle’s security…” he narrowed his gaze, using the blade tip to lift and make Jeremy sit on his knees.

“Y-Yeah. Every entryway into the castle is dodecaleveled with countless security systems that have endless backup protocols. The only way through is to either deactivate them or somehow get into the castle with a special invite. Y-Y-You can deactivate the security from the Mega Power Complex, but it’ll only last thirty minutes before it auto-reboots. If security comes back on and you’re still in there...” Jeremy explained shakily.

“I don’t intend to take my time in there. Thirty minutes should be more than enough.” he huffed, whirling on his heels to begin leaving.

“Thank you for your mercy, Lord Aku…” Jeremy sighed with relief, making him stop dead.

“What did you call me…?”

“W-What? L-Lord Aku…?”

“That is not my name…”

“I-I apologize! It’s just, that coat, that sword, your general demeanor, I just assumed… a-a-and the rumors of your return! There was a high probability of your being Aku!”

“I am  _ not _ Aku!” he roared, slashing Jeremy’s neck splashing his blood all over the VIP windows.

Angered even more than before, he left the VIP room to encounter police. They opened fire and he flipped his coat to absorb the bullets into it. When he put it down he now had a crude black mass in the shape of a gun in his left hand. When he fired it, like a blunderbuss the bullet split into multiple shards to kill each and every last policeman.

“Damn. I should have asked him where the Mega Power Complex is. Oh well. I’ll just do it the old fashioned way…” he huffed, walking off while dismissing his gun into thin air.

Mere hours later, Samurai Jack arrived in the city following a string of apparent sightings. He followed the clamor in the city to the club. The police and investigators recognized him immediately and stepped aside to let him inspect the scene. There was black residue left behind where the wanderer’s sword had stabbed the chair. A tarp had been placed over Jeremy’s body, but there was a blood trail from where he’d been slashed, indicating he didn’t die immediately. Drawn in the bloody glass with his dying breath was a last message - “Aku is back”. That was all that Jack needed to see.

“Aku. I’m not sure how you returned, but I am going to destroy you once again. Don’t think flinging me into the future will save you either… I won’t fall for that trick twice.” Jack scowled.


	2. The Darkness Cometh

_Long ago in a distant land, Aku, the shapeshifting master of darkness unleashed an unspeakable evil. A heroic samurai warrior wielding a magic sword rode forth to oppose him. After an arduous journey through time after being flung into the future, Aku was vanquished forever. The samurai, as some legends say, was still exempt from the spiral of time and continues to walk this earth. A tree to honor those Aku killed was planted at the site._

_This tree over time grew to become a blossoming tree with a brilliant pink bark. It became tradition for warriors who will go to war to pray at this tree for safety from evil. One young warrior and his allies sought to make a prayer for peace after successfully repelling an enemy attack. When the warrior placed his hand upon the trunk, his allies turned their weapons upon him. He tried to defend himself, but their numbers were too much for him. They ran him through with his own sword before dumping him in a shallow grave at the tree’s base. Years passed, and his blood soaked into the soil by the tree...turning the bark black and the blossoms from a pure white color to a hellish red. On the day of the eclipse that once awoke Aku, the warrior seeped out from the blackened bark - revived, with vengeance on his mind. His old armor gone, leaving only his tattered pants and shirt, he reclaimed his sword from the dirt. With the red eyes of a demon, he set forth into the new world as darkness formed a black overcoat around him…_

[Veil City - 2:30PM, 3 Days Since Incident]

It didn’t take an encounter for the vengeful one to recognize that the samurai was on his trail. All he needed to do was see the samurai in passing at a tv shop that happened to be playing the news. On that same broadcast something he wasn’t expecting set off his anger. Who should appear on the broadcast but that jolly fat man. From his old bulky armor down to his tan skin and long black beard. Yajha the Jolly Axe was still alive, and hadn’t aged a day. This presented a unique opportunity to take vengeance on the man who betrayed him, and _then_ end his bloodline. That smug smile of his now made him very angry.

“Yajha… I don’t know how you’ve escaped time’s passage, but I hope you’re prepared for your comeuppance…” he snarled, his coat fluttering a bit at the thought.

He made his way through the city with a renewed vigor, searching for information on the Mega Power Complex. His search soon took him to a bar where a map of the city was on the bulletin board - perfect. The language was a bit crude but nevertheless straightforward enough to make out. He then spotted what he was looking for... four times in a square around the city. It seemed confusing, and then he remembered those large bridges going to the palace. His train of thought was interrupted by the samurai entering the bar. Naturally the bar got excited seeing a living legend. The wanderer instantly became wary.

“What brings the legendary Samurai Jack into my bar?” the barkeep asked him.

“I heard rumors that someone matching the description of Aku passed this way. I wished to ask if perhaps any of you have seen anyone like that.” Jack replied.

“Well, there’s the stranger staring at the city map, but I don’t like pointing fingers.” the barkeep told him, pointing to where the wanderer once was, but he’d bailed as quietly as possible.

“Can you describe this man?” Jack asked.

“Black coat, foreign-looking shirt, had a wicked cool sword. We don’t see many of those these days with firearms being all the rage, you know? Oh, and he looked like he was out to kill somebody. Shady characters like him are pretty common here though.” the barkeep explained.

“I shall see if I cannot find him. Thank you for your cooperation.” Jack smiled.

When Jack left the bar a cold chill fired down his spine making him look to the right, just seeing the wanderer turn a corner. The wanderer took the elevator up one of the immense towers in town. His hope was that it wouldn’t take going to all four to disable security. Once at the top he entered the building only to have lasers fired at him that made him stumble a bit as smoke rose off of him.

“Well if it isn’t my friend! You should have stayed in your grave, old boy!” Yajha’s deep bellowy voice laughed heartily.

“Yajha…” he snarled, glaring to where the lasers came from.

Standing across from him with a great battleaxe on his back was the man himself. At his sides were sleek mechanical women armed with laser rifles.

“The funny part is that I was expecting Aku, given the rumors. I was worried that I actually had something to be afraid of for a moment!” Yajha laughed.

“Oh you’ll fear me!” he roared, drawing his sword.

He charged the robots and fought viciously, finding them much harder to hit than regular civilians. Unlike the bullets he absorbed, their lasers actually hurt. Although slight, they were making wounds on him. Yajha left on a hovercraft as he managed to run one through and rip off her head splashing oil all over the floor and wall. More rushed in as he took out the next one. After cutting down the rest he found the security shutdown switch and hit it hard.

“ **Security deactivated for maintenance. You have t-minus thirty minutes to complete routine maintenance.** ” a digitized voice spoke.

He then sprinted out and onto the connecting bridge. Far off he could see Yajha’s craft heading for the castle. Fury and murderous intent filling his chest, he sped up. His coat was fluttering and billowing like flames as he ran. The sound of a sword leaving its scabbard made him whirl on his heels to stop the blade of the samurai.

“Aku!” Jack roared.

“I am _not_ Aku!” he roared back, kicking him back.

“You cannot hide from me! Take your true shape, demon!” Jack demanded, charging him again.

The wanderer fought the samurai in a fierce battle of swordplay. When Jack would manage to wound him a piercing agony would strike him, worse than any pain he’d felt before. Jack would feel a similar pain whenever the wanderer would so much as nick him. A news chopper flew up as their fight escalated, causing debris of smashed bridge bits to fall to the city below.

“We’re reporting to you live from Sky Bridge 3, where the hero of legend Samurai Jack is fighting with Aku the Master of Darkness! His revival was unprecedented but it seems the samurai has it under control!” the news anchor spoke.

“I am _not_ Aku!” he roared, aiming his sword at the chopper making it extend at lightning speed to skewer the engine.

“W-We’re going down!”

“Do something!”

“I’m just a news anchor, what do you want me to do?!”

This caused the chopper to begin spinning and smash into the bridge, exploding on impact. Jack was mortified at the sight as the wanderer’s blade returned to normal size.

“You will not get away with this!” Jack roared, charging again.

“Stop interfering!” the wanderer roared back.

Their fight continued to grow more intense as a loud buzzing alarm began to sound, unnoticed by the two combatants. Flashing lights began to go off as well. Soon gun turrets began to appear all along the bridge.

“ **Attention employees, the maintenance period is almost over. This is your two minute warning.** ” the digitized voice spoke.

“Damn you!” the wanderer roared, knocking Jack back as an attack helicopter rose up on the left side of the bridge.

“This is for Jeremy, Aku!” a woman’s voice screamed.

The helicopter then unloaded everything it had - bullets, missiles, and lasers. The bridge didn’t hold, naturally, as the assault made a major portion of it collapse falling to the city below. The wanderer screamed in frustration and fury as he fell along with the debris. Jack looked over the edge after him and scowled.

“Aku… I know that will not be the end of this. I will find you and put an end to you once more.” Jack stated.

Everything was hazy as the wanderer came in and out of consciousness. Someone, or a lot of someones, were touching him and holding him. Now and then he could have sworn he was being scrubbed down, but too out of it to move. When he finally managed to fully recover consciousness he found himself nude in an altar chamber of some kind. Sitting up, his black coat summoned itself to him. The door then opened and a woman dressed in black with a white mask hiding her face entered the room. Upon seeing him awake, she got down and bowed to him.

“Lord Aku, you have awakened…” she spoke.

“I am not Aku…” he snarled.

“Not in name nor appearance, but your power is undeniable. You are our dark master, Aku, reborn…” she replied.

“I have heard the legends of Aku, but you are sorely mistaken if you believe me to be him.” he huffed.

“Our lord lives on in you. We beg of you, accept the moniker and lead us…” she begged.

“I only have a single mission: vengeance for my betrayal. Once I’ve accomplished that, I will be able to rest in peace.” he told her.

“Someone has wronged you?” she gasped, looking up at him.

“Those who I once considered my friends and trusted allies turned on me. I do not care what their reasons were, I will not forgive them. If I must, I will allow myself to turn into the next coming of Aku to see them brought to justice by my blade.” he explained to her.

“If this is so, then please allow us, the Cult of Aku, to serve your needs and be an extension of your blade. We shall accept that you are not our original lord, but shall also treat you as his second coming.” the woman begged of him.

“Could you keep the samurai busy while I slaughter the Barja Family? His interference is not welcomed in the least.” he asked.

“We shall lend every blade and dagger we have to accomplish this task for you!” she gasped, sounding ready to please.

“Very well. If you succeed and I can kill at least one member of them in my next attempt, I will grant your cult special permission to call me Aku. Now where are my clothes and sword…?” he huffed.

Using his coat to cover himself, he followed the cult member through a few dark corridors until they reached an altar chamber where several cultists were bowing in worship of his sword, which was having its blade bathed in a black ooze that seemed to bubble with heat. Folded nearly upon a small altar before it were his clothes. They looked to have been fully mended by a professional seamstress. He put his clothing on, albeit nervously as despite the cultists remaining in a bowed position he couldn’t help feeling at least one or two were catching a peek. Just as before, the ends of the leg sleeves to his pants became flamelike. He then drew his sword from the ooze and flung off any leftover residue. Its blade was still red, but had a black tint to it now.

“Sisters, Lord Aku’s second coming has come! We shall serve as his blade in the darkness! He has given us our first task, to prove our loyalty! We shall keep the samurai at bay while he accomplishes his goal!” the cultist spoke to the others.

He expected some confusion, but was greeted by a loud wave of cheers and continued praising of Aku. It bothered him that they hadn’t even earned the right yet, but if they could keep Samurai Jack away long enough to get some killing done then he didn’t care. He coordinated his plan with them to use Mega Power Complex 2 to get to the castle, since 3’s bridge was destroyed. They claimed they would handle getting him there unnoticed by the samurai or city security.

Using an inconspicuous maintenance vehicle, they drove him through the city to their destination. They even had a pass to get them through to the back entrance. From there they could use a special express elevator to reach the top, bypassing normal security measures. He couldn’t help noticing one of the members with them looked to be quite small compared to the other women.

“How old are you…?” he asked her, narrowing his gaze.

“I am twelve, my lord.” she replied readily, though the nervousness of being addressed was in her voice.

“Rather young to be in a cult…” he commented.

“My loyalty to you is unwavering. I will prove myself today.” she retorted.

Once at the top of the elevator, the cultists quickly disposed of the staff and turned off security. The wanderer then began to sprint across the bridge. It was not long until he heard sounds of combat behind him.

“AKUUUUUUUUU!!!!” Jack’s voice roared.

“Not this time, samurai…” he smirked, hearing Jack’s roars of Aku grow distant.

As he approached the other side of the bridge several armed guards charged only to be cut down by him. Gunmen and robots opened fire only to make it easier for him to get all the way across the bridge and onto the castle terrace by destroying the gates accidentally. He slashed the chords to the alarms when someone tried to set them off, spooking the soldiers there before their demise. After killing the last soldier standing guard, he made his way inside of the attic space where various treasures and contraband goods were stored. On an altar across the room was something that interested him - a black sphere that looked like tar.

Approaching it, the nameplate read “Evil Essence - From the Pit of Evil”. Something about it drove him to touch it, causing it to become liquified and be absorbed into his coat. This caused sensations of agony and power to pulse through his as his coat began to rage like an inferno. His coat sleeves then tightened and formed matching gloves with clawed fingertips. His hair had turned a shade darker as well.

“Touching that probably wasn’t a good idea… but at the same time… I feel good...” he smirked despite feeling unsteady as his coat calmed down.

He snuck into the palace proper and stealthed his way to a computer room with various security camera screens there. There were guards watching them who were none the wiser of his presence. He skewered one from behind and before the other even had time to scream he slashed their throat splashing their blood on the screens. Using the screens he then scanned for the Barja Family. He then touched the console making sludge ooze from his fingertips to enter the circuitry. The screens then all turned dark red similar to the blood splashed over them. All at once, the power to the palace died. The wanderer then flew through the halls, murder on his mind.

The first room he burst into was the master bedroom where he used his new clawed hands to disembowel the head of the family and cleave his wife in two with his blade. Any guards smart enough to have night vision gear met a grizzly fate. His next target was the eldest son, using the spear of a guard to pin him to the wall by his crotch allowing him to decapitate him. This rush that he felt spilling their blood, could only be described as a vengeance high. His desire to kill them had erupted into euphoria. He started killing even guards that couldn’t see what was happening in his madness. The sludge in the security system was feeding him information on the family’s whereabouts so even in the dark he could see. He killed each and every last member but one. He stopped before two large pink doors, a hellish grin on his face. All that remained of Yajha’s descendents was the youngest daughter at three years old...

“Come meet your fate… I’ll make sure you die quickly...” he panted excitedly.

He cleaved the doors open a bright pure white lights blasted him making a high pitched scream erupt from his coat as Yajha leapt out clashing his axe blade on his sword. Yajha kicked him back as security lights in the palace came on. The look on Yajha’s face was wide eyed with fury and contempt.

“What’s the matter, Yajha…? You aren’t smiling…” he grinned.

“Who do you think you are? To murder my family when your quarrel is with me…? You are not the man I once knew…” Yajha snarled.

“You aren’t the man I thought I knew, backstabber, so even stevens!” he roared, charging to clash with him as his coat continued to screech due to the lights.

Yajha’s brute strength made him easily able to deflect and block any of his sword swings or claw swipes. Even their agility difference didn’t phase Yajha much. In their fight, the wanderer noticed a hidden door just beyond the lights. A devious idea came to his head as Yajha swung to retaliate. He ducked under the swing, slid under his legs, and broke into a sprint. An ultimatum for Yajha - does he let him go for his last descendant or risk using his special throwing axe move that could take out the lights weakening him? Yajha growled as he chose to throw his axe, which he dodged causing the lights to be smashed as his axe hit the wall.

“That’s better…” he chuckled as his coat stopped screeching and righted itself.

“AKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!” Jack’s voice roared.

The samurai then smashed through the window via grappling hook, readying to cut him down. The young cult member managed to save him by using a kusarigama to grab Jack’s leg and yank him out of the air.

“My lord, take your revenge! I will stall the samurai!” she cried.

“I told you I would spare your life! You would throw it away for Aku?!” Jack asked, infuriated.

“If it is for Lord Aku, I would gladly give my life!” she retorted.

Yajha used that time to retrieve his axe and charge the wanderer. With his coat restored, he hit much harder now putting Yajha on the defensive. The more he managed to get past his defenses, the more flamelike his hair began to move. When he managed to knock Yajha’s axe flying, his hair was a veritable inferno. In one last final thrust, he skewered Yajha’s heart deep enough that his blade came out his back. When he pulled back Yajha spat up a very unhealthy amount of blood.

“Are… you happy now…?” Yajha groaned, falling to his knees as a dark mist began to rise from him and enter the wanderer’s coat.

“I will not be happy until I have killed each and every last one of you. You betrayed me, and so you now pay the price. You were my friend, Yajha… you brought this on yourself...” he told him, becoming somber by the end of his sentence.

“I really did… didn’t I? I hope you find rest… and find it in you to forgive us… someday...” Yajha smiled one last time before completely turning to dust leaving behind a glowing blue orb.

“MY LORD!!!”

Jack’s sword then pierced him from behind exiting through his chest. His jacket then exploded into nothing as he stumbled forward off of his blade. He then whirled around making a large slash wound on Jack’s chest, knocking the samurai to the wall. His vision shaking and tripling, he wobbled over toward the smashed window. The young cult member tried to pull him back, but wound up being pulled out with him. She kept screaming Aku as they plummeted through the air. His coat then burst back into existence in a half-formed state to form wings causing them to glide a bit and smack into several awnings, billboards, and hover vehicles slowing their descent until they crashed into an alleyway. The wanderer lost consciousness for who knows how long. In the blackness, he began to dream. He soon found himself sitting across from Yajha’s spirit. There was a noticeable chain shackle made of fire around his neck.

“Hello, old friend.” Yajha smiled genuinely.

“Yajha…?” he questioned in a daze.

“In a way, I guess that I should have seen this coming. Until you find rest, I cannot be judged for heaven nor hell. In a way it is the gods’ way of making me suffer for my crimes - watching you cut us down. We should have known better.” Yajha sighed.

“Why, Yajha…?” he asked.

“We were taken in by a foolish deal. Immortality, power, and an eternal place in history… and all we had to do was kill the only thing filibustering the war: _you_. We became worse than that which we hated… and allowed our reward to block out the guilt. If I could go back and do it over again… well… that’s pointless to speak of at this point.” Yajha answered.

“When I have taken all of you from this mortal coil, only then will I hear any talk of apologizing.” he told the jolly axeman.

“What will you do now? The world shall revere you as the second coming of Aku now.” Yajha asked.

“I am not Aku, but if they truly must call me something then they can call me whatever they want. I do not mind so much if the others know I am coming… because not even the samurai can protect them.” he replied.

When he came to, he was yet again naked with the exception of his jacket. His clothing was at least neatly folded by the bedside this time. Looking in a mirror, his hair had returned to a solid shape though his coat still formed gloves over his hands. Exiting the room, he was back in the cult hideout. He didn’t remember getting back at all. When he reached the ceremony hall, the young member had been given a headdress with six horns and a pink mask.

“Lord Aku…” they all gasped, bowing down to him.

“What’s with the headdress?” he asked them.

“She was given your divine protection when the two of you fell from the palace. To be protected from harm by Lord Aku himself is a great honor. We have elected to make her our head priestess to commemorate this honor.” one cultist spoke.

“If that is what you wish to do I will not stop you.” he sighed.

“What do you plan to do now, Lord Aku?” the newly minted High Priestess asked him.

“I will seek out the other targets of my vengeance. I may not have exterminated the Barja Family in its entirety… but I did kill the vast majority of them. I now seek the Sueda, Marka, Lieza, and Poupou Families.” he replied, beginning to make for the door.

“Please, allow the Cult of Aku to aid you.” the High Priestess pleaded.

“How many of those who went with you survived that mission…?” he asked.

“Two, my lord… but they will never walk again.” she replied, sorrow in her voice.

“Listen well. Regrow your numbers and heal your wounds. It will do no good to whittle yourselves to nothing. If there is no one left, how will you fulfill your goals? Your dreams?” he told them.

“Y-Yes, Lord Aku!” she gasped, making them all bow once again.

“I have but one last piece of advice for you, ‘high priestess’. When you rule a group of people, you must be fearless and willing to make difficult decisions and sacrifices. To try and do everything is foolish, so focus on what you are able to do.” he imparted to her before leaving the building.

“I will take your words to heart, Lord Aku!”

As he passed through town he took the deserted backstreets rather than the main streets. The world knew what he looked like now. It would be a bit harder sneaking into towns and cities now. Wherever he looked now, he saw wanted posters for “Aku, Lord of Darkness”. Standing before one of the posters, he stared at the name they placed upon him. His anger continued to boil and grow the longer he looked. He clenched his fists tight, and then relented.

“Fine… if they want to give my vengeful spirit a name… then I will take up that which strikes fear into them, so that my old friends know just who it is coming after them…” he snarled, turning to leave the city.


End file.
